Oral care implements such as toothbrushes are typically used in conjunction with a dentifrice for cleansing the teeth and/or soft tissue in the oral cavity. The dentifrice or similar oral care product may contain one or more ingredients which, when administered with a toothbrush generally via a brushing action, provide an oral health benefit to the user such as removing plaque and debris from the surface of the teeth and/or gums, polishing and whitening the teeth, protecting from sensitivity, reducing oral surface bacteria populations, and others.
Conventional toothbrush heads generally contain a plurality of tooth cleaning elements such as bristles which temporarily support the dentifrice during its application to the teeth and/or gums. By design, such bristles usually are formed into tufts containing numerous individual bristle strands (typically made of nylon or another polymer) and are primarily adapted for removing debris. These general purpose bristles are not optimized for polishing and removing stains from tooth surfaces or applying an oral care material to decrease sensitivity, particularly when used with a dentifrice containing, anti-sensitivity, whitening and polishing agents. The tips of the individual bristle strands make less than ideal surface area contact with tooth surfaces to achieve the optimum type of polishing and or filling action desired to effectively reduce sensitivity, remove stains, and polish and whiten the teeth.
An improved toothbrush head with elements for filling, polishing and whitening the teeth is therefore desired.